Surgical appliance.



G. S. BAXTER.

SURGIGAL APPLIANCE.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 23, 1910.

1,01 1,146. Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

ENTOR CALVIN S. BAXTER, 0F NELSON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SURGICAL APPLIANCE.

oraine.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 23, 1910.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911. Serial No. 578,563.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CALVIN S. BAXTER, citizen of the United States, residing at Nelson, in the county of Tioga and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for supporting a fractured clavicle during the period of juncture and in the method of bandaging the same, my object being to provide a simple and effective appliance for this purpose, which, when fastened in place, will hold the fractured parts firmly in place and yet leave the arm free, instead of strapped to the body, as has heretofore been the practice.

I attain my object by constructing and attaching the appliance in the manner illus trated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 presents a side elevation of the appliance; Fig. 2, a front elevation thereof; and Figs. 3 and 4, front and back views showing the manner of attachment to an injured person.

Like numerals designate like parts in the several views.

As preferably made, the appliance consists of a support having two side pieces 1, 1, of sheet metal, or other suitably stiff material, joined together at the top by an arch 2, and toward the lower end by two brace bars 3, 3. Just below the arch, a rod of heavy wire 4 is fastened to the side pieces on their inward sides, said rod being bent upward at the front of the support to form a loop 5, which rises a suitable distance above the arch. The sides of this loop are spaced apart a suitable distance and a cross piece or web 6, of metal, or other suitably stiff material, is fastened to these sides at the back of the loop. At the back, the rod at is bent to form a loop at 7. Adjacent their upper ends, at the back, the side pieces are provided with loops 8, and adjacent their lower ends, at the-front, with loops 9.

The appliance is fastened in position and held therein, as follows :After the fracture has been reduced, the support is placed against the side of the body with the arch 2 resting snugly under the arm joint at the shoulder, where it is held by means of strips of adhesive plaster 10 and 11 fastened to the loops 5 and 7, respectively, (see Figs. 3 and 4:). A strip of plaster 12 is then fastened to the loop 8 on the side piece next the bodv and attached to the back of the injured per son, as shown in Fig. t. The support, by means of these plaster strips, is held snugly up under the arm with the cross-piece 6 pressing back against the shoulder. A plaster strip 13 is then fastened to the loop 9 on the inside side piece and the bottom of the support is drawn forward, thereby pressing the cross-piece still more strongly against the shoulder, the fastening of the loop 8 acting as a fulcrum. lVhen the desired pressure against the shoulder is attained, the plaster strip 13 is fastened across the front of the body, as shown in Fig. 3. To further support the injured shoulder and transfer the weight to the opposite shoulder, a bandage 1 1 is passed around the body and between the side pieces of the support, where it is drawn up to the desired tension against the brace bars 3. Should it be the other clavicle that is the broken one, the support is supplied with the loops 8 and 9 on its other side piece for attachment to that side of the body.

By the use of the appliance, it will be noted that the arm is left entirely free for movement in any direction, instead of being bandaged to the body in a cramped, uncomfortable and useless condition; and experience has demonstrated that this freedom given to the arm does not endanger the proper healing of the broken bone, since my support firmly holds the broken parts together from the arm socket inward regardless of the movement of the arm in its socket.

l/Vithout confining myself to the exact details of construction of the appliance and its manner of attachment as herein described and illustrated, what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. An appliance of the character described comprising a member adapted to lie against the side of the wearer and having a support for the shoulder at its upper end, an arm projecting upwardly from said support and adapted to bear against the front of the shoulder, connections on said arm and said member for shoulder bandages, a connection at the rear of said member, adjacent said support, for a back bandage, and a connection at the front of said member below said back bandage connection for a front bandage.

2. An appliance of the character described comprising a support composed of a rigid side piece having an arch at its upper end, a rigid arm extending above the arch at the front of the support, and connections for attaching bandages to the support at the top of the arm, at the back of the arch, at the back of the side piece adjacent the top, and at the front of the side piece adjacent the bottom.

3. An appliance of the character described comprising a support composed of two rigid parallel side pieces spaced apart and joined together at the top by an arch, cross braces between the side pieces adjacent the bottom, an arm extending above the arch at the front of the support, and means for attaching bandages to the support at the top of the arm, at the back of the arch, at the back of each side piece adjacent the top, and at the front of each side piece adjacent the bottom.

4;. An appliance of the character described comprising a rigid oblong support adapted to be applied to the side of the wearer and provided with means at its upper end for pressing upward and backward against the shoulder joint, in combination with a bandage attached to the top of the support at front and rear and passed over the shoulder 5. An appliance of the character described 7 comprising a support having rigid parallel side pieces spaced apart and joined together at the top by an arch, an upwardly extending arm at the top of said support and on the front thereof and having a loop at its top, a loop at the back of each of said side pieces near said arch, and a loop at the front of each of said side pieces below the loops at the back.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

CALVIN S. BAXTER.

Witnesses:

JOHN PEPPER, PAUL JONES DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

